dengue

It is rainy season and the mosquitoes are everywhere. Mosquito bites are dangerous. It brought us different diseases. The most common of all is the dengue. Some provinces and cities already declared a 'state of emergency' just because of dengue fever. Dengue is not a simple disease. It could be fatal. And medication is costly.

So, in simple ways, I want to help in making people aware of this disease, how can it be prevented and what are the symptoms of it in order for us to be able to protect ourselves.

What is dengue?

DENGUE is a disease caused by Aedes aegypti virus carrying mosquitos.

We should be aware of this disease. It is not contagious but it isn’t choosy of a victim.

Dengue is transmitted by the day-biting, striped Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying a virus. These mosquitoes are very active during the day and specially during the rainy seasons. They mostly lay eggs in a clean, stagnant water such as flower pots, plastic bags, or cans. Transfer of the disease is not person-to-person. There is no such thing. From a single bite of a mosquito carrying the virus is enough for you to get sick. But it is also possible that a mosquito biting a dengue victim to carry the virus and transfer it to another person.

Symptoms of Dengue Victim

Sometimes dengue is faulted to a simple fever or flu. The victims usually ignore them what they feel or what their illness is.

So it is better if we understand and if we can tell the difference from a simple fever to dengue.

Here are some of the most common symptoms:

• High fever (as much as 40c) which may last 2 to 7 days. Sometimes the fever will be gone for a day or two. Then returns again.
• Feeling of weakness
• Skin rashes. Tiny red spots on the skin called petechiae. Not very visible. You can try putting pressure in the upper arm to stop the flow of blood for a few minutes so that the spot can be seen.
• Joint and muscle pain
• Vomiting a dark-colored matter
• Unsually dark stools
• Sometimes nosebleeding when the fever starts to subside
• Abdominal pain
• Pain upon moving the eyes.
• Headache.
• Chills.
• Sometimes swollen glands.